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The Hero: Yukimura (If only this was the dark hero - Haji is batman in my mind now)
The Sidekick: Err not sure.
The Villain: Maki (At least to me)
The Sidevillain: Maki again (Because he is that much of a ass)
The Nice One: Kat or as Shou think's Saito lol
The Meanie: Maki dur
The Comedian: Tak, he's a laugh
The Smart One: Not sure
The Just Plain Clueless One: ME!!
The Pretty Boy: Kat LOL
The Hot Babe: Err there are women on here. 
The Shake n’ Bake: Shou and Maki, we will OWN THAT dungeon and kill each other with the new badass weapons. 

Numa castle stood ahead. The foreboding abandoned castle Shou had only heard tales of in passing, among this swamp covered region of Satsuma. He wasn't here really through choice, but on a mission. A mission unlike those he was use to. A possession of his master, had gone missing and reports hinted towards the castle here as having been a hiding place for the thief. However seeing the castle now the idea didn't seem to fit properly. He had to look though, he wouldn't say he had and not do so.

Approaching Shou would push the broken large doors into the grounds of the castle. The creaking doors, almost a moaning sound, the hairs on the back of his next sticking up from tension. The sheer abandoned feel filled him, but he couldn't shake that the feeling was wrong somehow. The air was dry, which was off putting. The surrounding swamp lands where wet, and the air was moist even if unpleasant while inside they seemed slightly unfitting.

Around him Shou could see three way on to proceed. Left right and forwards, and each seemed as still and silent as the others. It made sense in his head to start with the left first, and go through each path one by one systematically, but before he moved on, he wanted to keep the way out open. Heading back outside he found some debris and blocked the doors open, with that done he prepared to head inside. 

'Damn' Shou would think as he failed to get free, and painfully hit the ground. A knee digging into the side of his ribs as the other man got his arm in to a twisted lock position. Shou knew he was in a bad position and didn't see a way free without getting hurt a lot. Out of sight however his free hand would gather up a collection of dirt, dust and cherry blossoms from the ground. If he was to have any chance he needed a distraction.

His arm with all the speed he could muster would whip round. Throwing the collection of particulates towards the other man's face. Pain would shoot through his arm and shoulder as the other man applied more pressure. Pushing up with his leg and side, how bring the arm down on the other man's, feeling the pop in shoulder and screaming out in pain. The blow combined with the fact his arm, no matter how painfully could bend in way not normal, Shou would pull away with another scream of pain, pulling his arm free. 

Rolling away, still in agony Shou used his good arm to push himself to his feet. One arm hanging limp. IT was bad, but he didn't see another choice. Maybe afterwards Amakusa could teach him the counter. Shou had never come to win. But to learn, to test himself, and to see just how much his body could take. The pain in his shoulder was incredible. At least he was figuring out one of the three so far. 

Shou came up off the ground as Amakusa grabbed his arm and moved into a throw and Shou new he was going to come down hard. However he knew that he couldn't risk letting this fight move to the ground, while the other man still had his arm. Lashing out with his free arm, into the other man's wrist hard as he came down towards the ground, forcing the other man to hopefully break his grip. Shou would slam into the ground with a sharp exhale of breathe due to the pain of meeting the ground. 

If Shou had managed to break free as hoped, he would turn the monument of the throw into a roll. Spinning his legs out in order to bring himself to his feet, and hopefully connect with a series of kicks with his heels at the same time from the action, if Amakusa followed after him. H knew he need to be off the ground and on his feet, and would pull up his guard to protect himself. Slower then he would have hope from the pain in his back. If this fight was going to move to the ground, Shou wanted it to be on his own terms. 

It seemed Amakusa wasn't one to be taken by such a obvious leg sweep as he had made. Nimbly jumping into the air to avoid it before lashing out of with another kick. It was to fast to avoid, and Shou only choice was to take it, however he turned at the hips to move his shoulder across slightly instead. The kick meant for his chest hit solidly against the shoulder but the force still pushed him away and he saw Amakusa flip backwards creating distance and pulling a guard up. 

"Nice kick." Shou said with a quick nod, planting his own feet and pulling up another guard of his own. Clenching and unclenching his hand, to see how much the blow to the shoulder had impeded his arm. Not to much, the main problem with straight kicks mid air was the pushed you back and lessened the force, though he could still feel it. Shou would approach slowly closing the distance, before charging at the other man, left arm raised back as if to throw a palm strike. Only instead Shou dashed right at the last second bring his right arm up from his guard into palm strike uppercut towards the man's neck, hopefully under his guard. Even if Amakusa pulled back to alone, the blow would continue forward hopefully connecting with the man's jaw instead. 

“A bow?” Shou asked dumbstruck at the idea. “Yes Yamabara is there a problem with that?” Captain Koboyashi would ask holding up curved wood and stringed weapon at him for him to take. Shou took the weapon, as well as one of the quivers of arrows. “It’s simple men.” The captain started walking away from him to talk to the whole of the unit. “Lord Shingen is disappointed in us. This is Nakamura-san. He is here to bring us up to scratch.” Koboyashi explained gesturing over to the man beside him.

The other man stepped forwards and pointed to the archery range behind them, and Shou turned to look, as the professional archer explained. “Good evening men, by the end of today you are going to be better. No excuses. Do you see the targets behind you?” Nakamura asked, and Shou looked the targets over. They were an impressive imitation of men constructed out of wood, dry grass and cloth, spaced apart in a line some way off. “I’m going to run you through correct form to use your bow, and then you going to take 20 arrows, and hit that thing 15 times in the head. Oh and you better at least hit the target, I don’t want to see more then errm… let’s call it two misses.” Nakamura explained shrugging his bow off his shoulder and into his hand he approached the first in the line of the unit.

Eventually after going through the first men in line Nakamura reached him. “Alright show me how you use your bow, just draw don’t fire.” The other man order him, no greeting and Shou did as instructed. His lack of use of a bow shining though as he drew the bow he was sure. “No no no. That is completely wrong.” Nakamura spoke with shock. Firstly he used one of his feet to push one of Shou’s legs back rather than having them so close together. “Yes you need to be straight, but you need a wide enough stance to be balanced. Otherwise you’re going to throw your shot off completely.” A prodding hand force him to move his grip higher on the bow’s body. “Hold here, where you don’t feel the bow forces you to grip it, but rather grip it willingly.” Finally another hand pushed his other arm up. “Don’t draw across the chest, its terrible form, but rather draw to the chin or the jaw. Good form and allows you to aim correctly.” Nakamura ordered with each pressing change to Shou position he made. “Now draw again and hit the target as I instructed.” Nakamura finished with a point before moving onto the next man.

Shou followed the instruction as best he could, and redrew the bow arrow notched and aimed. With a brief exhale, Shou then held it mid release, as he let the bowstring go. The arrow sailed throw the air and passed over the shoulder of the target, closer than he had been expecting from his lack of previous use of a bow. Trying again, he notched a arrow and was about to draw, before realizing why he may have missed. Taking a quick step to the side and realigning himself up. He tried again. The arrow flew pass the poll of a neck of the dummy and Shou knew that the shot would have hit if it had been a human target, which was extremely annoying. Now having got he generally position right for the exercise, Shou aimed on the third shot. Striking wooden torso, followed by another doing the same. Raising his aim higher, having got centred the fifth met the cloth head. Following his form he repeated the shot as best he could over the next fifteen arrows. Muscle memory led him mostly at this point, and seeing as he didn’t move from where he was standing, the arrows hit the mark consistently.
Shou finished and waited for each of the men in turn after to him to get instruction, and attempt the exercise after him.

“Good work men.” Koboyashi would congratulate, appearing in the strangest large padded armour that Shou had ever seen. “But we not done yet.” Nakamura added picking up a similar grab. Shou as well as the rest of the men stifled laugher as the archery pulled on the armour. “Me and you captain are going to run pass each of you. I want you to get us in the leg. Lead your shots and you should do fine. We’ll both make 5 passes. And I want you to hit us seven times in the leg at least. And only let’s say 1 actual miss this time, half the shots from before so half the mistakes.” The marksman’s explained leading Koboyashi off as the two were now ready. Shou and the other men quickly got back in position and got ready.

It was Koboyashi that ran first, and Shou tried to draw and fire in time to get the man, but Shou was quick to realised he need to be ready first in order to hit and his first arrow met nothing but air. Having realised he draw again as quickly as he could and held himself ready as the marksman came pass. Leading his shot, Shou loosed the arrow catching the man in the padding of the hip not having brought his bows aim down far enough. Now Koboyashi was coming back from the other side and he tried once more leading his shot longer this time, giving himself time to bring the bow down and loose the arrow, getting the captain in the back of the knee. Soon to be followed by Nakamusa once again, his bow already aimed ahead of the man he wait till would be slightly behind his aim and let go. The marksman, basically running into the path of the arrow to be struck in the lower thigh.

Shou once again got into the rhythm of the exercise. Following Koboyashi and leading his shot enough to get the captain in the leg. And then being ready for the faster moving man that was the Nakamusa, and taking his shot while the man slightly father away then he original lead Koboyashi. It was working. He had got it down. It was much different from leading a target with a throwing, once he had the correct form down, and knew how fast the arrow move compared to a running man. Hopefully the lesson with a bow wasn't going to throw his normal timing out. Taking his shot happily on the other two men’s final pass, Shou smirked to himself. The extra range of a bow wasn’t that bad, maybe he would have to get one for use while on horseback. As throwing daggers weren't the best in that regard.

Shou relised that he wasn't in a position to really block effectively, as he was trying to hold onto the other man as best he could. And Yukimura blow struck him as planned. However it didn't cause him to suddenly leg go or anything but did cause his grip to loosen. This wasn't good.

Desparatly Shou tried to get his feet back to the ground inside the ring, and only managed to get one inside, while off balance he he refused to put the second down as it would lead him to losing. With everything he had, including his body weight Shou pulled, he knew was going out of the ring anyway at this point, but he planned to at least drag the other man with him. Yukimura had only said he had to ring him out in order to rest, not the he couldn't go down at the same time. 

Shou felt the other man not push back as he hope he would, and noticed how the other man planted his feet  before trying to lift him. Instead of waiting to be lifted and thrown clear of the the ring, Shou gripped the other man's hands as tightly as he could, and jump to the side, hoping to follow the momentum of Yukimura's attempt to throw him out of the ring and force the man to carrying on spinning long enough that he could land back in the ring. He assumed that Yukimura would try and let go of him while he was out the ring, so that he would fall out, but Shou would claw on as long as he possibly could.

Shou screamed in pain, as the man's blade continued to bite into his side. And as the man caught his Shou pushed with every ounce of strength he had trying to over the other man's grip to no avail. It was then that the man managed to push the advantage and get him off the top and Shou to the ground instead. The blade in his side causing him to scream once more. 

It was then that an told him to let go of the anger, and basically told him that he wouldn't kill him if he gave in. Shou knew that he could probably push himself through the pain if he really wanted to but the position he was in it would be pointless. It wasn't like he had any goals apart from continuing to serve in his duties, death would be escape from that. And a insult to his family gone. 

Collapsing back into the ground, Shou glared up at the man. Rather then just turning to admit defeat he quickly tried to essay why he lose. The man problem he had was the range of the other man swords and his ability to force he to fight close quarters where he could be effectively zoned. 'He who fights and survives the day, live to kill this bastard another day.' Shou though to himself, a twisted grin on his face. "You win. You can beat a Courier, impressive." Shou mocked coughing revealing that he wasn't at least in his own much of a fighter to start. He should have gone for his horse too that was another good plan to take this guy down in the future. 

Shou felt the blade in his left hand make contact with the blade, that the man had got up in time but still felt the minor penetration, only to push force with everything he had when the man let go of the blocking weapon. He stopped biting the man when the now free hand grabbed his wrist. What was he doing. Shou saw the incoming blade out the corner of his eye. Too late to avoided, no weapon in his free hand to block. He pulled his body to the side as hard as he physically could but it wasn't enough and the blade gashed down his side. 

The wound was bad and caused his left hand to lose grip of his daggers. It seemed the other man was just as serious he was. He to do something, and retreating was a stupid idea. He would never be able to get back to his feet fast enough. Shou let the anger he had bottle up again out. Calling upon as much strength as he could as he flick a knife into his free hand, rather then locked between his fingers, he held it in a fist downward pointed and would bring the blade down into the other man's shoulder as hard as he could, aimed right for the joint between the shoulder and arm the man held his weapon in. 

Pain would shoot down his side, from the serious cut the man had managed to deliver. It had to work otherwise he wouldn't have a chance. But if it did. there was no way the man could keep hold of his weapon, or at least use the arm with a dagger stabbed in such a location. Hopefully the pain would be enough to cause the man to also let go his wrist. Long enough to roll away, because he need to get into position away from the man before he went into shock from the sword wound in his side. 

The man charged him before he was in any position to throw his daggers, and was smart enough to use the extra range of his blade to his advantage. Shou realised that he was fighting against a competent swordsman as the man brought his right blade down towards him. Instinctively Shou brought up the talon daggers in his left hand to catch the blade, when he notice the man didn't seem as committed to the strike as he should. Stopping his attempt to block the blade short Shou jumped back as the man change stance, bringing his first blade back and slashing out with the one in his left hand, narrowly missing Shou's abdomen.

With he right hand Shou, would bring his dagger after the sword and push it further in path. Hoping to make the other fighter over swing enough that he only had the blade in his right hand to react. Stepping in close, and to his right, Shou would try to place himself closer to the other man, bring the larger back from having pushed his other weapon away he spun the weapon to stab at the side of the man lower gut, while bringing his claw like dagger up in a guard.